Team AMAALA (SUI/SAU)

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Since his early years, Simon Koster (SUI) has competed in numerous races and regattas, first in dinghies, before becoming a crew member in regattas, from the Solent to the West Indies, where his desire for the open sea and competition was awakened. An Atlantic crossing aboard Sam Goodchild's Class40 convinced him to take the plunge. So the Zurich native threw himself into the great adventure: competing in the Mini Transat aboard a 6.50-meter boat, a race without communication that has forged so many champions, finishing in third place in the production boat classification. It was there that he met Alan Roura for the first time, in 2013. Simon boldly competed in another “Mini,” this time in a prototype, with the first Mini with foils (7th in 2015). He attempted the adventure a third time, without foils this time, and finished on the overall podium (3rd in 2017).

The next chapter came under the Swiss banner with his fellow French-speaking Swiss sailor Valentin Gautier. Partnering in Class40, they took a fine 4th place in the 2019 Transat Jacques Vabre, just a few weeks after launching their new boat, and the following year they won the Normandy Channel Race. In their last race together, they finished second in the 2021 Transat Jacques Vabre. He competed in one last season in Class40 solo, finishing his first Route du Rhum in fourth place, before joining Alan Roura's project. First as an electronics engineer, then as a navigator, becoming co-skipper for the 2023 season.

Conrad Colman (NZL) grew up with the wind and waves. Born in New Zealand, he discovered sailing as a child and honed his skills in local regattas. But it was in France, on the pontoons of the offshore racing circuit, that he made a name for himself as one of the most committed sailors of his generation.

In 2016, he embarked on his first Vendée Globe aboard Foresight Natural Energy, with an unprecedented challenge: to sail around the world without using fossil fuels. He succeeded. Despite major damage—his mast broke just 700 miles from the finish line—he completed the race under a makeshift rig, becoming the first skipper to accomplish this feat.

Still convinced and driven by the desire to prove that performance and ecology can go hand in hand, the “Crazy Kiwi” repeated the feat in 2024, completing his second Vendée Globe without using fossil fuels.

A passionate sailor with a profile as versatile as it is specialized, Jessica Berthoud (SUI/NZL), at the age of 23, has built a unique career combining competitive foiling and technical expertise. Trained on flying multihulls—GC32, Flying Phantom, Nacra 17, 69F—she has also been a master sailmaker for four years, a dual skill set that is particularly valued in the world of competitive sailing.

European champion in 69F, and with a solid background in sailing, Jessica is now preparing to take on a new challenge: making her debut in offshore racing with the Switzerland Offshore Team.

The youngest member of the team will embark on the second leg of The Ocean Race Europe, between Portsmouth and Cartagena, starting on August 17, as well as the fifth and final leg, between Genoa and Boka Bay.

At just 23 years old, Lucie De Gennes (SUI/FRA) already has an impressive track record, including three junior world championship titles in the mixed 470 class with Matisse Pacaud. Currently preparing for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles with the French team, but driven by a desire to explore and attracted by collective adventure, Lucie—who discovered sailing at age 12 in a Laser on Lake Geneva—is participating in the Swiss Offshore Team selections for The Ocean Race Europe alongside Alan Roura. She is eager to discover ocean racing, with a sincere curiosity and a desire to explore a new world.

A tactical specialist, determined and ambitious, she will take part in the first leg of The Ocean Race Europe, starting in Kiel, Germany, on August 10.

Guillaume Rol (SUI) is a well-rounded sailor, combining regatta racing, technology, and offshore adventure. Although he started sailing late in life, he has progressed rapidly and built a career rich in varied experiences: from the Olympic NACRA 17 to the Sydney Hobart, via the TF35 and Cape31 circuits.

A seasoned professional, he alternates between the roles of tactician, strategist, and skipper depending on the project. After several years of performing on all types of boats, he is now turning his attention to the open sea, with a clear goal: to contribute to the growth of offshore racing in Switzerland.

Guillaume will embark on the second leg of The Ocean Race Europe, the longest, between Portsmouth and Cartagena, starting on August 17.

Félix Oberle (SUI) embodies a technical, human, and committed approach to sailing. An engineer by training, he left Switzerland to settle in Lorient, where he has been devoting all his energy to his Mini 6.50 project for three years now. A solo adventure marked by a transatlantic crossing, two seasons in a prototype, and a strong desire to improve with each voyage.

With his solo sailing experience, his training in mechanical engineering, and driven by a natural curiosity and a taste for teamwork, Félix is now joining the Switzerland Offshore Team with a desire to explore a new format and contribute to the project with humility and commitment.

He will embark on the first leg of The Ocean Race Europe, from Kiel to Portsmouth, starting on August 10.

At 28 years old, Mathis Bourgnon (SUI)  is charting an ambitious and determined course between committed sailing, project management, and team spirit. A versatile sailor, he has been competing for several years on a variety of boats—Mini 6.50, Easy to Fly 26, offshore catamarans—and is currently preparing for the 2025 Mini Transat, while joining the Switzerland Offshore Team to take part in The Ocean Race Europe.

A complete athlete, Mathis alternates between solo and crew formats with the same rigor. His experience in Mini-proto, which he has been building from scratch for two years, has given him a comprehensive overview of the profession: logistics, technology, sponsors, partnerships... a school of resourcefulness and consistency, in his own words.

He will embark on the third and fourth legs of The Ocean Race Europe, from Cartagena to Genoa via Nice, between August 21 and 28.

A 25-year-old Swiss-New Zealand sailor, Rebecca Gmuer Hornell embodies the new generation of ultra-versatile sailors, capable of sailing at a high level while mastering the technical aspects of the most demanding boats. From Sydney-Hobart to Fastnet, via the Caribbean 600 and even an all-female transatlantic race in MOD70, Rebecca has been brilliantly stringing together international campaigns.

A professional rigger with more than six years of experience both on land and at sea, and a solid track record from the Pacific to the Atlantic, she joins the Swiss Offshore Team for the third and fourth legs of The Ocean Race Europe.

A sailor since childhood, Yann Burkhalter grew up on Swiss waters, from Optimist to Laser, M34, D35 and Mini 6.50. A shipbuilder by trade, he combines technical expertise with a genuine passion for the sea.

After competing in the Mini Transat in 2017 and several seasons of regattas, Yann put his sailing career on hold to devote himself to his family life. Today, driven by a desire to return to the open sea and armed with his offshore experience, excellent technical understanding of boats, and natural team spirit, he joins the Switzerland Offshore Team with determination.

He will embark on the fifth and final leg of The Ocean Race Europe, from Genoa to Boka Bay, in early September.

After working in cinema as a director and actress for several years, Coline (FRA) returned to her first loves of sport and nature by becoming an OBR (On Board Reporter) in ocean racing.

She worked for the Lazare team during the preparation for the Vendée Globe and made a documentary about this adventure. She also filmed for other teams (Upwindbymerconcept, Hublot, etc.) and made a documentary in the mountains about women in remission from cancer who attempted to climb Mont Blanc.

Adrien (BEL) has always been passionate about images and loves to share the worlds he films. After a brief stint studying cinema, he left school to join the open sea. A 40-day raid in a Nacra Inter 18, camera in hand, gave rise to a short documentary that opened the doors to the world of ocean racing.

The position of On Board Reporter (OBR) then became an obvious choice. For the past five years, he has been sailing on Multi50s, Mini 6.50, IMOCA and, more recently, ULTIM boats to capture the experiences of sailors in these extraordinary projects.